QR30mn research facility for animal production opens

HE the Minister of Municipality and Environment Mohamed bin Abdullah al-Rumaihi yesterday inaugurated the Animal Production Research Station in Sheehaniya Municipality.
The QR30mn research station is one of the vital projects launched by the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME) to provide the local market with necessary food products and achieve self-sufficiency in this area, the MME has said in a statement.
The inaugural ceremony was also attended by Dr Hassan Rashid al-Derham, president of Qatar University; Sheikh Faleh bin Nasser al-Thani, MME assistant undersecretary for Agriculture and Fisheries Affairs; a number of MME departmental managers and members of the Central Municipal Council.
The minister conducted a tour of the key facilities and components of the research station.
He said the MME was seeking – through such projects – to boost quality, increase production in terms of the number of births and quantity of milk produced, as well as curb livestock diseases, which would have a significant impact on all species of local animals in the country (camel, goat, sheep), the official Qatar News Agency (QNA) reported.
He also praised the State’s support for such vital projects and the efforts of those working on the research station as a centre of protecting animal products and enhance livestock in Qatar.
Masood Jarallah al-Marri, director of the MME’s Agricultural Research Department, said the new facility is the first such of its kind specialising in research and development related to animal production techniques and exploring ways to improve economic returns from the country’s livestock.
He stressed that the agricultural sector in the ministry has paid great attention to this “pioneering project” in co-operation with the Public Works Authority (Ashghal), to complete it in a short period and with appropriate specifications to become a reference for studying and improving the productivity of livestock in Qatar, according to the report.
Al-Marri said the facility, built on a total area of 78,000sqm at a total cost of about QR30mn, was part of the MME’s projects aimed at achieving food security and strengthening the infrastructure for agricultural research as well as improving and preserving genetic characteristics.
Through this station, the agricultural sector “puts its practical and human capabilities to serve livestock breeders, through research aimed at raising the productivity of milk and red meat, improving the methods of animal breeding and feeding and selection of breeds of desired traits, and then disseminate these results to breeders as well as the distribution of animals selected to improve the breeds of livestock”, QNA adds.
The new station comprises a number of facilities, including three laboratories for animal feed, artificial insemination and animal biotechnology, as well as 30 barns and spaces for small ruminants and one for camels and cows where measurements and research activities are to be carried out. It also houses a large numbers of goats, camels and sheep.
The MME is currently conducting research on the effectiveness of the intensive production pattern for different goat and sheep species.